The present invention generally relates to file replication, and more specifically, to file replication between location-aware mobile devices.
In typical systems, a mobile device connects to a server and may receive data files and other content from the server via an Internet connection. In some systems, a distributed, block-based, network cache or web cache may be used to reduce the time and bandwidth used to send content to mobile devices. For example, a network cache may be located in a wireless router, or other network device. The network cache stores copies of data passing through the network cache so that subsequent requests for the data may be sent from the network cache to the requesting device(s).
The use of a network cache is advantageous because the network cache is “closer” to the requesting devices, and thus, the data typically is received more quickly at the requesting devices. Further, the use of a network cache reduces the overall network bandwidth used to send the data, and reduces the load and demands on the server that originally sent the data.